>> hello, welcome, i'm steven cole. this is the world news from al jazeera. also ahead - sea makes its move

in the east china sea. >> the victims of typhoon haiyan exploited in abused. we visit the philippines a month after the storm that left millions homeless. >> first, the president of the central african republic told al jazeera he has not lost control of the country. thousands more french and african union troops are on their way to stop attacks by rival militias. the red cross says it's collected more than 400 bodies after three days of bloodshed. the african union has around 2,000 troops. the plan was to increase it to 3,600, but now the e.u. is bringing the force up to 6,000. it submitted 1200, but an extra 400 went in, bringing the total

to 16-00. thousands have been forced out of their homes. the president of chad said the central african republic could be moving towards a religious war. nazanine moshiri reports from bangui. >> foot patrols in the city of bangui. it's new to the city, but reassuring to many. they are mere to assure people in opening up shops. there's no food and little medicine. there's little the french can do between the growing sectarian between muslims and christians >> translation: we have been here for thousands of years. the anti-balaka are killing us.

>> this is where the christians are, at the airport under the protection of french and african forces. there'll be another 2,500 soldiers soon, heading out to parts of the country where hundreds of lost their homes. too late for the people in this country. this hospital is completely empty. it used to treat hundreds of people. what happens here on friday night and in the early hours of saturday is horrific. seleka forces went inside and dragged out injured people here, killing at least 10. nine months ago the rebel group seleka marched into bangui bringing with it thousands of fighters. the man that led the rebellion

is holed up in the military base. he won't accept that power is slipping away. how can you call yourself the head of state or the country that you have no control? >> it's too much to say i have no control. i control my men. what i can't control is not my men. there is score settling after 10 years. all the crimes committed which have not been answered for. >> anti-balaka includes members of the army of former president francois bozize. al jazeera learnt that they are outside bangui, waiting for reinforcements and people here are waiting for the next big battle. this time around the french and african forces have a chance at preventing more bloodshed. >> trans's president is putting

pressure on president michel martelly who grabbed power with the rebels. francis hollande suggests that he won't have a role in a future government. in an interview with french radio he criticised the inability to stop killings, by saying i don't want to point fingers but we can't leave in place a president unable to do anything, or even worse, who let things happen. he's referring to the killings. francis hollande says the idea is to head as fast as possible towards elections. >> the french president is speaking at a summit in parris. jacky rowland was there. >> at the end of a 2-day summit the french took the opportunity of having so many afghan leaders under one roof to stay on for a short while and talk about the

central african republic. it was decided to increase troops to 2,600. and to get rebels into their barracks, into their bases. in the longer term there are interreligious tensions on the country in order to hold a donor's conference. part of the reinforcements are an enlargement of the french contingent. francis hollande now has 16 undertroops. france will always be engaged in mali. 3,000 troops there, and 1600 in the central african republic. it wants to turn over african policing to african police-keeping forces. d in the two countries forbe some time to come. >> china irritated some nations

and the u.s. south korea responded by making their own zone. a large part of it overlambs the japan zone and south korea has an air defense zone. its boundary is being moved, including islands and submerged reefs, one disputed by china. the latest from south korea and china. rob mcbride is in budget, and harry fawcett is in seoul. is this a tit for tat move? why have they done this? >> well, certainly it's a very direct response to what china did on november the 23rd by extending their zone into the east china sea. a lot of the attention on that surrounded the islands claimed by japan and china. the e.u. in china.

as well as that, it did enroach on the existing south korean air defense zone and south korea has wanted to extend its own zone to cover two of its islands that were not included when the original zone was drawn up in 1951 by the americans, and there's a submerged reef and that falls under the new zone which extends 150km or more korean peninsula. that has south korean scientific research station and helipad on it. it's in a strategically important part of the waters and south korea's own military aircraft operate with greater ease in this area. sea trying to say that it's going this in a regularized way than china did a few days ago, saying it's consulting with its neighbours, leaving them with a

grace period so it can have further consultations about how the rules will work. joe biden was here in seoul speaking to the south korean president and they are very much on the same page as the south korean partners. >> harry fawcett, thanks for that, from seoul. >> let's go to beijing, to rob mcbride. how are the chinese to react? >> we are still waiting, but they issued plans last week. they expressed their regret and will respond pragmatically, keeping open linings of communication with south korea, urging them to work within international law and

convention. coincidentally when china set up its own air defense zone which brought about this counter rise in tensions, it says and maintains that it was working within the international law. although of that it's disputed by many others. >> thank you, rob mcbride. >> in the occupied west bank a 15-year-old has been killed whilst playing football and he was shot in the back. the family is blaming the israeli military for his death. they are investigating. >> sudan's vice president resigned as part of a cabinet reshuffle. he was an important figure behind the 1994 coup that brought president basheer to power. he was a negotiator in an agreement that ended the civil war in 2005.

>> ukraine protesters are calling for marches for three weeks. they've been on the streets despite freezing temperatures. thousands demonstrated in kiev's independence square. >> south africans are uniting in of reflection in memory of l day nelson mandela. at his family home people are mourning. nelson mandela died this week at 95. u. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon will be among the world leaders on tuesday. >> i'm joined from soweto. it's become a symbol of the antiapartheid struggle. haru mutasa, it's a day of reflection and prayer. tell us more about how south africans will spend their

sunday. >> take a look at this. it's packed. people from all walks of life, and races coming to remember the priest is speaking. try to learn from mandela, try and do good things. other people are in synagogues. people will go to parks, sit with family and friends and discuss what they remember about nelson mandela. let's tell the world what he loves and what we can learn. >> and remembering him, of course we realise he's in state, but to be there will not be possible because the place will

be taken by diplomats and politicians. what is the government putting in place for the people. >> they are putting in big screens so people can watch and see what is going on. it's okay in theory. a lot of people want to know what is possible. a lot of people want to be close to the village. the government asked people not to do that. some people are saying, "you can't tell us not to go, it's awe village, madeba is our father." it could be a logistical nightmare. we are looking at the mass celebrated. at the regina church in soweto. still to come - testing times for india's ruling party.

the vote counting starts in state elections. >> i'm in gaza reporting on why an increasing number of syrian refugees are coming here for safe haven.

>> welcome back. the top stories here on al jazeera. the president of the central african republic told al jazeera he has not lost control of his country. the african union and france are sending thousands more troops to end fighting between rival

militias that have killed 400 more. >> south korea's announced an air zone overlapping china's in the east china sea. >> south africa is uniting in prayer. a memorial service will be held next book. >> in india vote counting has started in four major states where the main opposition party is set to make gains. the state election is a test ahead of the general election. we are joined from new delhi. how is this test going? >> the vote counting started six hours ago. electronic voting in four of those states, there was a fifth as well. it was announced later in the

week. the vote counters are making shock waves across the political spectrum. congress is doing badly. they are the encum band party. they lost definitely the capital new delhi, and lost a large state to the west of delhi. it's been a vjp, and delhi a vjp gain. the surprise in the capital where the state is voting the aap, the ordinary mount party, influence and inspired by a man who went on hunger strike to try to clear - clean-up corruption in the capital. another state is a head to head. out of those four the bjp was taking three of them, congress one. >> what have the major issues been for the electorate, apart

from corruption? >> i think the economy is a maim maimer major issue and resources - it's linked to corruption in one form or another. you can't get away from it. for example, a central indian state to the east, it's rich in minerals and natural resources and forestry. those resources - some believe they have been plundered and no one knows where the finances have gone. people are clear about what they want from their next set of politicians. the bjp have their prime ministerial candidate. he is advocating clean pol sticks. similar to his home state.

been there many times. very good roads, electricity, water supply. he can do that for the rest of india. that is what he's trying to advocate. that's where the fight will be about corruption and who can develop india into a modern 21st century state. >> it's been a month since the philippines was hit by one of the most powerful typhoons ever. millions was donated to help those recovering from the ty coons, but it will take years for it to get back on its feet. another 1,800 people are missing. more than 12 million people are affected. stretching government and aid resources to their limits. of those only 100,000 are in evacuation centres. as we report the victims are

suffering, this time at the hands of crooks. here is a ruined city of tacloban. survival is not a happy one. this woman takes me to an abandoned building to explain what happened and why she is ashamed. like men others, she lost her home and has to figure out how to feed her 11 younger siblings. desperate to earn a living she's a sex worker and is paid as little as $6. >> translation: i am forced to do this because of my siblings. i don't know how they can survive. because we are poor and have to scrape for everything. i feel jealous. i know that girls like me should go to school every day. what can i do? i have to work. i have to help my parents to especially now. typhoon haiyan struck the philippines a month ago, killing

thousands. it displaced millions. around 10% of the country's population has been affected. the government is unable to provide for the millions of people who need food, shelter and medical assistance. >> cash for work programs employs thousands and brings back a sense of dignity. the jobs are hard to come by. one of the biggest problems is security. the united nations estimates that around 300,000 people might have already been exploited. many of them in places where they came looking for safety - buildings like this, which have been turned into evacuation centres. >> children are unable to go to school. millions are living in disaster zones. >> it's a serious situation. we have to go back to the situation prior to the typhoon,

where levels were high, unemployment levels were high. after the typhoon haiyan, community was more fragile and desperate. it opened up the avenue for exploitation of women and children and men and boys. >> as emergency help dwindles, people are more desperate. there's a new way of living here, they say, a life of struggle, uncertainty and sexual exploitation. >> greek politicians approved a budget for next year. that's when some hope the country will come out of a 6-year recession, including $4 billion in cuts. others say the cuts will mean more hardship. the prime minister says it's an important step in meeting obligations to the european union. >> eight people have been killed

in an attack in southern columbia. the army says farc rebels fired mortars from a lori. the victims were five troops, two civilians and a police officer. >> security has been tightened as thousands of workers get ready for elections in venezuela on sunday. it's the first since nicolas maduro narrowly defeated the opposition. >> north korea called him a war counterclaim. the u.s. says he's a former sainga. the saga for merrill newman, who spent a month in detention, it's over and he's back with his family. >> merrill newman made the trip to north korea, he would not have known how much more difficult a journey it would

turn out. after weeks of detention he's back in the u.s. looking healthy with his wife by his side and a simply message. >> it's been a great homecoming. i'm tired, but happy to be here tk you all for the support we got. very much much appreciated. >> merrill newman was a soldier in the korean war. his visit to pyongyang was a long-planned vacation down memory lain. the north koreans released this video, likely forced, by merrill newman, admitting his affiliation to the white tigers. ancient history. for north korea, ever mill tarized and ready to fight off the impeerials. the two countries are

technically at wars having not signed a peace treaty, and his release likely required the personal approval of kim jong un. why north korea decided to let merrill newman go now is a mystery. >> after he comes home and has a chance to get well-deserved rest. we'll have more to say about his unusual and difficult journey. for now, though, we ask you to allow us time to be with him and ask that you not forget another american kenneth bae still adelaide in the dprk. >> kenneth bae sentenced to prison. he was caught proceeding the word of christianity, the missionary deemed a greater threat than soldiers merrill newman. merrill newman missed thanksgiving. happily for his family and wife he returns in time for the

holidays. >> syria's neighbours may be struggling with refugees heading one place is trying to attract this ex over 1,000 arrived in the gaza strip since the war began. >> as far as neighbours go akmed feels me has done pretty well. he's a syrian refugee, next to a palestine. she is would don't just live together they work together. akmed is bringing the best of his country's cuisine to this strip. >> translation: i don't feel a stranger, i new friends, now brothers. we do well together. >> koort -- according to the

u.n. many are plea fleeing. increasingly many are making a trip to the gaza strip. this place is overcrowded and has high unemployment. the power goes off daily and the fear of war returning at any second never goes away. yet the syrian refugees gaza represents two big attractions. firstly, they feel safer. they don't go into refugee camps, they have a chance to cause up their own place and role. whatever that may be. the restaurant services two. tonight maurice is off duty having a romantic evening with his palestinian girlfriend. there's is a story of love and hope punk tated in an area

surrounded by war. >> translation: as a syrian in gaza i'm considered a citizens. i'm relax. i originally planned to come for the day. i met my fiancee, fell and love and consider myself palestine. >> those arriving have been given $us500 for an apartment. for those like this man, this is not a happy end, but a comfortable start to a new life. many in need of safety and security are likely to make the journey, and despite gaza's problems, it may be their best hope. >> iran's president swapped his traditional clothing for a baseball cap and track suit. in photograph on his website he

is hiking with friends. they are trying to prevent a friendlier image of the islamic republic and engage with western countries. there's the front page of the aljazeera.com if you want to take a look in more